Topic Contents

Anger, Hostility, and Violent Behavior

Topic Overview

Anger signals your body to
prepare for a fight. This reaction is commonly classified as "fight or flight."
When you get angry, adrenaline and other hormones are released into the
bloodstream. Then your blood pressure goes up, your heart beats faster, and you
breathe faster.

Many people mistakenly believe that anger is always
a bad emotion and that expressing anger is not okay. In reality, anger can be a
normal response to everyday events. It is the right response to any situation
that is a real threat. Anger can be a positive driving force behind our
actions. Anger can also be a symptom of something else, depending on how often
a person feels angry and how angry the person feels.

Hostility is being ready for a fight all the time. Hostile
people are often stubborn, impatient, hotheaded, or have an "attitude." They are
frequently in fights or may say they feel like hitting something or someone.
Hostility isolates you from other people.

Teens who say they often feel
angry and hostile also more often feel
anxious,
stressed, sad, and
fatigued. They have more problems with alcohol and
drug abuse, smoking, and eating disorders than teens who do not have high
levels of anger.

Violent behavior often
begins with verbal threats or relatively minor incidents, but over time it can
involve physical harm. Violent behavior is very damaging, both physically and
emotionally. Violent behavior can include physical, verbal, or sexual abuse of
an intimate partner (domestic violence), a child (child abuse), or an older adult (elder abuse).

Violence
causes more injury and death in children, teenagers, and young adults than
infectious disease, cancer, or birth defects. Murder,
suicide, and violent injury are the leading causes of
death in children. Violence with guns is one of the leading causes of death of
children and teenagers in the United States.

If you are angry or hostile
or if you have violent behavior, it is important to find help. You can learn ways to
control your feelings and actions.

Does your or another person's anger or hostility cause problems with others?

These could include problems at work or school, problems with strangers, and problems with friends or family.

Yes

Anger or hostility causing problems with other people

No

Anger or hostility causing problems with other people

Are you concerned about self-harm?

It can include acts like cutting, burning, or choking yourself on purpose, or pushing objects under your skin (like pieces of metal, glass, or wood). People doing these acts usually are not trying to kill themselves, but the results can still be dangerous.

Yes

Concerns about self-harm

No

Concerns about self-harm

Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind
of care you may need. These include:

Your age. Babies and older
adults tend to get sicker quicker.

Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart
disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care
sooner.

Medicines you take. Certain
medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements can cause symptoms or make them
worse.

Recent health events, such as surgery
or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them
more serious.

Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug
use, sexual history, and travel.

The risk of a suicide attempt is
highest if:

You have the means to kill yourself, such as a
weapon or medicines.

You have set a time and place to do
it.

You think there is no other way to solve the problem or end the
pain.

Try Home Treatment

You have answered all the questions. Based on your answers, you may be
able to take care of this problem at home.

Try home treatment to relieve the
symptoms.

Call your doctor if symptoms get worse or you have any
concerns (for example, if symptoms are not getting better as you would expect).
You may need care sooner.

Symptoms to watch for during home treatment

Prevention

Seek positive ways to resolve problems.
Arguing can be okay, even healthy, as long as it does not turn violent.

Think before you act. Take time to stop and cool
down when you feel yourself becoming angry. Count to 10, or practice some other
form of mental relaxation.

Take steps to lead a healthy life.

Engage in some type of regular physical
activity. Exercise is one of the best ways to release all types of stress,
including anger. A brisk walk is a good way to start. For more information, see
the topic
Fitness.

Eat a balanced diet. Remember to
drink plenty of water.

Establish a healthy sleep pattern. Try to
get the same amount of sleep each night.

Limit your use of
alcohol, and do not use other drugs, such as cocaine, crack, or
methamphetamines. Alcohol and drugs may make your feelings of anger and
hostility worse and make them even harder to handle. For more information, see
the topic
Alcohol and Drug Problems.

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